Field
The described embodiments relate to techniques for improving communication performance in a wireless network, including techniques for using shared network-state information from a companion electronic device for associating with a communication hub.
Related Art
Many electronic devices include a networking subsystem to wirelessly communicate with other electronic devices. For example, these other electronic devices can include a networking subsystem with a cellular network interface (e.g., Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) or Long-Term Evolution (LTE)), a wireless local area network interface (e.g., a wireless network such as described in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard (which is sometimes referred to as “WiFi”) or Bluetooth from the Bluetooth Special Interest Group of Kirkland, Wash.), and/or other types of wireless interfaces.
However, certain communication techniques may be preferred for particular applications. For example, for high-throughput data transfers between a pair of electronic devices (e.g., music library synchronization, photograph synchronization, address-book synchronization, and software-update downloads), WiFi may be preferred to Bluetooth.
For the data transfer to occur, the pair of electronic devices typically needs to be on the same network. When joining a WiFi network, an electronic device usually scans multiple channels to find a known network. However, this scanning operation typically consumes a considerable amount of power and delays the electronic device in associating with the WiFi network and receiving high-throughput data transfer from another electronic device.